The present invention is relates to a wall structure. More specifically, the present invention relates to a wall structure that may be used in a variety of interior and exterior applications, for example, as a skirting wall, as wainscoting, as a retaining wall, as a swimming pool wall, as a veneer or fascia, as cladding or siding, as a fence, and as a load-bearing or non load-bearing wall.
Transportable structures such as mobile homes, trailer homes, modular homes and recreational vehicles, by their very nature, are usually not intended to be built upon a conventional foundation. Rather, they are brought or driven to a location where they may remain for indeterminate periods of time. Often, over an extended period at a particular site, such structures may start to settle differentially onto or in the ground due to factors such as deflating tires or local variations in soil bearing capacities. Additionally, factors such as erosion and freeze-thaw cycles may also cause such structures to shift and/or tilt. In order to prevent such unwanted movement in such structures and ensure that a structure is level regardless of the ground""s topography, the structures are often placed on stilts that extend from the structure or upon piles that extend from the ground or even on isolated footings that distribute the weight of a structure over a relatively large surface area. While this solves the aforementioned problem of shifting and/or sinking, it often results in an unsightly visible gap in the area between the ground and the bottom of the structure.
Various attempts to cover the unsightly visible gap have included the use of plants, natural material such as rocks and wood and man-made products such as cement, masonry and plastics. These attempts have proven to be either prohibitively expensive, difficult to install and/or disassemble, or unattractive and unable to withstand sustained exposure to nature""s elements. Attempts that tend to be prohibitively expensive or difficult to install include, for example, wall structures constructed of large, custom-made, cement slabs having decorative faces, and standard masonry blocks held together with mortar. Attempts that fall into the latter category include such relatively fragile and easily breakable products as wooden or plastic lattices, and synthetic panels designed to simulate stones or bricks.
Consequently, there is a need for an easy to assemble and/or disassemble, lightweight and sturdy, inexpensive wall structure for covering the gap between the ground and an elevated structure such as a mobile home.
In other applications, where brick, stone, or concrete is used as veneer or fascia, for fencing, and as load-bearing and non load-bearing walls, etc., these structures are constructed with an eye towards permanence. That is, the structures are not meant to be easily dismantled. This means that the component parts are often able to interconnect with each other and/or with a support framework in some fashion. This usually entails the use of robust connections such as mechanical fasteners, adhesives, cement, or the like. For example, many types of veneers are typically coated with adhesive or cementatious material to enable them to be securely and directly bonded to a structure. Or, as another example, walls may be constructed in a conventional manner with blocks and mortar. Alternatively, wall structures may comprise heavy, interlocking blocks that rely on size and weight to achieve some measure of permanence. As one may well imagine, each of the aforementioned structures would be difficult and time consuming to reconfigure, remove or repair should the need arise. And while the construction of some of these structures typically requires specialized knowledge, skills and tools to achieve, it will be appreciated that disassembly may require other, additional specialized knowledge, skills and tools to achieve. In light of these shortcomings, there is an additional need for a wall structure that may be easily assembled, disassembled and rebuilt or reconfigured by an unskilled user without damage to the constituent parts of the wall structure and which may be used as a veneer, fascia, cladding, fence, or as a load-bearing or non load-bearing wall.
One embodiment of the present invention provides a masonry block wall system for use in skirting elevated structures. The blocks are shaped to be stacked in vertically independent, self-supporting columns, strengthened and linked together by specially shaped, lightweight, lateral support beams positioned between adjacent columns, and stabilized by inverted u-shaped brackets which are attached at or near the bottom of an elevated structure. In an alternative embodiment, a u-shaped bracket is provided with an arm that is rotatably attached thereto and which is movable into a position that facilitates attachment to a generally vertical surface.
Each block comprises a front face, a rear face, top and bottom surfaces, and side surfaces, and each side surface includes an outwardly opening, vertically oriented groove for receiving a portion of a support beam. The top and bottom surfaces are configured to facilitate a stacking relationship between adjacent courses of blocks such that they are generally coplanar. This relationship is most easily achieved by making the top and bottom surfaces substantially collateral, planar and relatively perpendicular to rear and/or front faces.
One purpose of the beams is to keep the vertically independent, self-supporting columns of blocks from buckling when subjected to a force normal to the plane of the column. This strengthening is accomplished providing the beams with lateral extensions that are configured to be received in aligned grooves at the sides of vertically stacked blocks. Another purpose of the beams is to link adjacent columns together in a colonnade-like arrangement to form a wall structure. This is also achieved with the aforementioned lateral extensions and grooves. As may be expected, the beams provide very little, if any support in a vertical direction. The columns are considered independent because, unlike conventionally constructed masonry or stone walls, the joints between adjacent blocks are in alignment with each other rather than being offset as in a running bond. This enables the columns of blocks to move up and down relative to each other, without appreciably altering the inherent continuity of a wall structure. As will be appreciated, the rigidity of the blocks provides enough support to prevents a column from failing in the vertical direction. The support beams are preferably comprised of weather resistant metal or synthetic material, such as poly-vinyl chloride (PVC), nylon or the like.
The use of the lateral support beams also obviates the need for mortar between the blocks. This mortarless wall structure system is advantageous over traditional brick and mortar walls for obvious reasons. First, fewer materials are required to build a wall. Second, the materials are easier to handle and manipulate, and no special tools or skills are required. Third, a wall can be constructed under conditions that would not be possible using traditional brick and mortar construction and a person need not be concerned about time constraints imposed by drying mortar. Fourth, the intimate block-to-block contact between adjacent blocks results in very tight joints that allow the wall to appear monolithic or seamless. It is also possible to create walls that have the appearance of conventional block and mortar construction. Fifth, the loose block system can be constructed on a variety of surfaces, including sand, gravel, dirt, or building elements such as H-beams, flooring, base blocks, etc. It is not necessary to pour a foundation.
The lateral support beams also allow the blocks to be substantially thinner than conventional masonry blocks. These thin, lightweight blocks are not only easier to handle and ship, but require less material and time to fabricate. The blocks are generally about 1 to 4 inches (2.5-10 cm.) thick, about 6 to 12 inches (15-30 cm.) in height and about 6 to 24 inches (15-60 cm.) in width, and preferably have a thickness on the order of around 2xc2xd inches (6.0 cm.). As one may appreciate, the combination of the thin blocks and the support beams facilitates construction of masonry wall structures in locations and configurations that were heretofore not possible using thin blocks alone. The resulting wall structure of this system is surprisingly strong and it may even be used to provide support to an elevated structure. Once a wall structure is installed about an elevated structure, the elevated structure may be lowered onto the blocks of the wall. Alternatively, the blocks may serve as a skirt, which improves the aesthetics of the structure and keeps animals, litter, snow, etc. from intruding or being otherwise introduced beneath the structure. In this embodiment, it is not necessary that the blocks make actual contact with the structure.
The loose block system also allows the wall to be easily disassembled and reassembled. This not only gives flexibility during initial construction, but also allows later renovations to be made quickly and inexpensively. For instance, it may be desirable or required to vent elevated structures having skirting walls, to prevent the buildup of moisture or condensation between the ground and the elevated structure. Such vents can be easily installed into an existing wall, especially if they are of similar dimensions and configurations as the blocks. The blocks of a given column are simply removed and reinstalled, replacing one of the blocks with the vent. Other auxiliary items, such as an access door or lights, could be installed in a similar manner.
The wall design of the present invention also allows a wall corner to be constructed without supporting beams or mortar. Two walls are simply aligned to form a butt joint and fasteners such as appropriate plastic pegs or screws and plastic inserts are used to fasten one wall to the other. Alternatively, construction mastic, or a similar type of adhesive, may be applied instead of or in combination with the screws. Again, ease of installation is greatly improved by the loose block, mortarless system of the present invention.
Another embodiment of the wall structure uses a differently configured bracket than the aforementioned u-shaped bracket. It too, is used to operatively connect the wall structure to a support. The bracket of this embodiment, however, attaches in a slightly different manner than the u-shaped bracket. Instead of straddling the upper portion of a top-most block as with the u-shaped bracket of the aforementioned embodiment, this bracket has one end that is configured to be positioned within space defined by opposing vertical grooves of adjacent blocks. That is, the bracket is designed to be installed at or near the sides of a column. The other end of the bracket is configured to be attached at or near the bottom of a structure. An advantage with this bracket it that it is able to provide support for the wall structure in two directions, while allowing movement of wall components relative thereto in a third direction. As will be appreciated, this bracket may be easily installed and removed without the need for special training or tools. Preferably, the bracket of this embodiment is L-shaped, although it is envisioned that other shapes are possible. For example, the bracket may be linear, or it may be linear and have an axial twist in it. Or, the structure engaging portion may be provided with a u-shape or even its own integral fastener.
These and other objectives and advantages of the invention will appear more fully from the following description, made in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein like reference characters refer to the same or similar parts throughout the several views. And, although the disclosure hereof is detailed and exact to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, the physical embodiments herein disclosed merely exemplify the invention, which may be embodied in other specific structure. While the preferred embodiment has been described, the details may be changed without departing from the invention, which is defined by the claims.